Albanian PM’s ‘Intimidation’ of Woman Journalist Condemned
Journalist Ambrozia Meta. Photo courtesy of Ambrozia Meta
Edi Rama was strongly criticised on Tuesday for allegedly intimidating Ambrozia Meta, a journalist for Albanian television channel Syri TV, by touching her cheek after ignoring her questions at a press conference in Tirana.
Rama made the allegedly intimidating gesture and then walked off after Meta asked him about an investment project on the island of Sazan – an environmentally protected area – where it has been reported that Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump, will be involved in building properties for the tourist trade.
A disgusting, yet no surprising gesture of #Albania PM, @ediramaal harassing a female journalist today. pic.twitter.com/0DFuUOzDwX
— Xhemajl Rexha (@xhemajl_rexha) March 19, 2024
“I was asking Rama about the investment in Sazan and if is it an investment scheme like the one at the port of Durres. And when I told him at the end that there is no investment in the port of Durres, but the apartments [at the upmarket port redevelopment] are being sold [before the buildings are fully constructed], he said: ‘Go and look at it [the Durres project]’ and touched me on the cheek with his hand. I told him: ‘Don’t touch me anymore’, and that was it,” Meta told BIRN.
“Unfortunately, Prime Minister Rama is now demonstrating his usual arrogance towards journalists with physical contact. I’m sorry that the head of the government can’t control himself when asked about issues of public interest,” she added.
Rama rejected demands for a public apology, writing on X that there had not been “anything near to an aggression” and that “all questions were answered patiently”.
Media rights organisations condemned the incident.
“[We are] standing in solidarity with journalist Ambrozia Meta who faced intimidation by Prime Minister while simply seeking transparency and accountability. Urging PM Edi Rama to engage respectfully with the press,” Safe Journalists Network said in a statement.
The Union of Albanian Journalists said that Meta had the right to question Rama at the press conference.
“The prime minister not only did not give a concrete answer to the specific question, but… avoided the obligation to give a concrete figure for the possible public benefits of one of the biggest projects in the field of Albanian tourism,” the Union of Albanian Journalists declared on Tuesday.
“The prime minister’s refusal to and avoidance of [giving] concrete answers was accompanied by intimidating language and the violation of ethics, going up to the violation of the physical integrity of the journalist,” it added.
Rama has clashed with journalists, including Meta, on previous occasions. In 2022, he temporarily barred her and another journalist from his press conferences.
In March 2022, Rama told Meta that she needed “re-education” after she asked about a ruling Socialist Party MP who had been arrested.
“Today you lose the right to my answers [at press conferences] for the next 60 days. You will go into re-education [camp],” Rama said.
In July 2022, when journalist Kelvin Muka asked Foreign Minister Olta Xhacka about a strategic investment project that was won by her husband, Rama interrupted the press conference, saying that the question was not ethical and barred the journalist from press conferences until October.
“You will go into re-education [camp]…You are not welcome at any press conference,” Rama said.
In 2023, Albania was ranked in 96th place out of 180 countries around the world in the global press freedom index compiled by international watchdog Reporters Without Borders.
“Journalists critical of the government are often subjected to political attacks designed to discredit them, and they have trouble accessing state-held information. A recent centralisation of government communication could result in further restrictions on access to state-held information,” Reporters Without Borders said.
